Roving43450562446
Jul 2021
With the family on vacation we were looking for something fun and relatively inexpensive to do on the water in Miami so we decided a boat tour of celebrity houses might be fun. It was only 90 minutes so not too long and not too short. First it is very difficult to find the boat. Give yourself plenty of time and bring somethingcold to drink. Once we found it they lined us up until it was time to board. It was over 90° that day and very few clouds. The area where we were waiting had part with a shaded overhang, but they made everyone stand in the sun while the crew went back and forth under the covered area getting ready for the tour. We got on the boat and decided to sit inside on the main level as it was air-conditioned, but we quickly realized that the ac temperature was not very cold. Once the boat started we moved out to the front on the main level and there was a nice breeze. Besides inside there were very few shaded places. The boat ride itself was nice and pretty smooth. We saw Miami from Biscayne Bay, some huge container ships, big cruise ships and many other boats anchored and motoring by. Very nice. We went by Fisher Island where the tour guide said Oprah, Tom Cruise and past politicians live or have lived. Can't really see anything specific just buildings on the island. We then went to where past and current celebs/rich and famous lived on Star Island. Sometimes it was hard to figure out which houses he was talking about. That's where so and so lived for about 10 years. That's where such and such is supposed to be building a house. Sometimes it was hard to figure out which house the tour guide was talking about. Don't get me wrong the houses are breathtaking, but after a while I couldn't tell if he knew or was making it up. The tour was over pretty quickly as most of the celebrity houses are on one side of Star Island, then we headed back to the dock. During the trip they try to sell you a photo of your group for $20 and get you to sign up for a cruise drawing, but we passed on both. We took our own photos, didn't want to be on any cruise marketing list and had already spent about $150 which was enough as the overpriced everything at Bayside took us for another $50 or so for soft drinks and some snacks, not to mention parking. We also didn't get any food or drinks on the boat, but it was an option. I suppose the part that left a bad taste was as we were getting off the boat the tour guide whobtried his best to befriend all the passengers stood by the exit with a bucket begging for tips, then making snide comments to passengers who didn't give or if he felt the tip wasn't enough. Driving over a bridge from Miami Beach later that afternoon I realized most of the tour could be seen from my car. Overall I give it a 3 out of 5 stars. 4 stars for the boat ride itself.